Canada Focus

Canada's Twelve Most Wanted Answers to Prayer - February 2010 - Part 2

CANADA'S TWELVE MOST WANTED ANSWERS TO PRAYER

MORE THAN GOLD
Prayer Working Group 2010

Metro Vancouver has been the focus of a tidal wave of prayer from the nations of the world as those nations came here for the Winter Games, February 12-28 and March 12-21. Because our God is a prayer hearing and a prayer answering God I am believing that this abundance of prayer will result in breakthroughs for the Church at large and transformation in every area of society.

From the start, the Prayer Working Group of More Than Gold (MTG) saw our goal not so much as to pray for the Olympics but to pray in the purposes of God for the Olympics being in our city. We have prayed for the ongoing work of MTG and the numerous working groups developing the theme of Radical Hospitality through witness, service and social justice issues. Since August 2008, when the Beijing Olympics came to an end, there have been monthly prayer walks around all the Olympic sites in the Whistler and Vancouver areas. We have prayed for our City, our Nation and the hundreds of thousands who would descend on Vancouver. We have prayed for peace and safety for all and especially for the athletes and their families. We have prayed against the destructive influence of disease, organized crime and the evil of sex-trafficking.

We have also networked with and encouraged other exciting prayer initiatives like 'The Cry' in Stanley Park and the 'One Voice' conference. In January and February a new nationwide prayer initiative - 'Unite Canada 2010' - mobilized prayer 24-7, with Vancouver/Whistler as a focus together with Canada's ‘12 Most Wanted Answers to Prayer’. About 20 national prayer ministries who met in this area in September 2009 supported this initiative. A team in Whistler prayed faithfully for months for God to move in that area and also organized a virtual prayer room.

The Southern Baptists blessed MTG with a pocket sized prayer guide written by Dr. Tom Blackaby. It was a daily devotion and prayer guide that covered the 27 days of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It was excellent and thousands of copies were quickly snapped up.

The Torch Relay came through Hope into the Lower Mainland on February 7th, on its way to the Opening Ceremony on February 12th. Many used this as an opportunity to pray for all the cities that were featured on a day-to-day basis on the VANOC web site. 'Stand on Guard' linked intercessors daily to pray through nationwide phone calls, and then continued to cover the Paralympics.

On Keats Island, Keats Camp and Barnabas Family Ministries joined together with MTG and the National House Of Prayer in Ottawa to provide a very strategic International Prayer Centre. Intercessors worshipped and prayed continuously during the Olympics and kept up to date in prayer through technology and feedback from the MTG office which became a ‘War Room’.

The MTG Creative And Performing Arts group (CAPA) led by Russ and Sandy Rosen organized worship and prayer times in local churches on many evenings during the Olympics. The atmosphere of worship and prayer was also built up by 27 hours of non-stop worship at the ‘BURN Vancouver’. Organized by Cityscape Prayer, nearly 600 youth, young adults and the young of heart came during the event while local worship teams took 2-hour sessions.

YWAM had an international team of about 150 who served at the warming station at Broadway and Commercial every day and also formed small teams around the City that offered 'Free Prayer' to passers-by. These prayer teams were very effective and met with a high level of acceptance from people, especially on the Drive!

A prayer alert was prepared for the Paralympics that went out to a few thousand people through the networks. Many of the events were in Whistler and our prayers were with the local churches and prayer teams there.

The PWG desired to be inclusive and welcoming to a variety of prayer initiatives. We had a vision for uploading virtual prayer walks onto YouTube but regret that we were unable to achieve that. Another major regret was that the original vision for Canada Ablaze, a nationwide journey following the Torch Relay, was aborted as members of that particular working group came under pressure. Experience showed that it would be helpful to have the MTG web site functioning about 2 years ahead of the event.

We are glad to report that that has been good contact with the MTG Prayer Working Group leadership in the UK for the 2012 London Olympics and they have invited us to join with them in prayer. Let us rejoice and be glad because God is for us!

Pastor David Carson
More Than Gold - Prayer Working Group
March 25th 2010

Intercessors for Canada

Intercessors for Canada is a group of Canadian Christian leaders and intercessors who seek God to hear what He is saying to our nation. It is our prayer that through the ministry of IFC you will be strengthened in your prayer life, and that a Spirit of Prayer will come upon you for Canada.